I blew out a breath, not eager for the skirmish - Merit versus the world she left behind.
"It's going to be fine," Ethan said, and I glanced over at him with surprise. Both that he'd read me so well and that he'd responded supportively.
"I hope so," I told him. "I'm not thrilled about the possibility of running into Nick again, and you know how I feel about my father."
"But not why," Ethan softly said. "Why the animosity? This breach between you?"
I frowned out the window, unsure how much I wanted to share with him. How much ammunition I wanted to give him.
"I wasn't the daughter my father wanted," I finally said.
Silence. Then, "I see. Are you close to Charlotte and Robert?"
"I wouldn't say there's animosity there, and we stay in touch, but they're not on speed dial." I didn't tell him that I hadn't talked to my siblings in a month. "We just don't have that much in common." Robert was preparing to take over my father's business; Charlotte was married to a physician and populating the world with tiny new Merits.
Well, Mrs. Dr. Corkburger-Merits.
Oh, yeah. Corkburger.
"Do they share your animosity toward your father?"
"Not really," I told him, looking out the window. "I didn't acclimate well to the socializing.
Charlotte and Robert did. We were all born into it, but they thrived. They're, I don't know, equipped for it. For that kind of lifestyle, that kind of attention, for the constant competition. I think because of that there was less friction between them and my father.
Their relationship was, I don't know, easier?"
"And what did you do while they were enjoying the Merit advantage?"
I chuckled. "I spent a lot of time in libraries. I spent a lot of time with books. I mean, my home life was peaceful. My parents didn't fight. We had, materially, everything we needed. I was fortunate in many ways, and I realize that. But I was a dreamer, not much interested in the societal goodies." I laughed. "I'm a reader, not a fighter."
Ethan rolled his eyes at the admittedly lame joke. "And clearly not a comedian," he said, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. He guided the Mercedes off the freeway and onto a divided highway. I watched neighborhoods pass, some houses lit, others dark, human families engaged in the act of living.
I glanced over at him. "We're getting close. What's the plan?"
"Ingratiation and groundwork," he said, eyes scanning the road. "You reintroduce yourself to these people, let them know you're back and that you belong. That everything due to the Merits - the respect, the access, the approbation - is due to you as well. We determine what we can about this supposed story, Jamie's involvement, Nick's involvement." He shook his head. "Your news of Nick's visit muddies the water somewhat, and we need to know where we stand. And based on that information, if your father is there, we consider whether there are ways he can help."
My stomach twisted in unpleasant anticipation. I was more than willing to give up what was "due" to me as a Merit in order to avoid my father. But this was about access, about neutralizing a threat. I was a big enough girl to take one for the team.
"And we're the bribe?" I asked.
Ethan nodded. "Your father is an ambitious man, with ambitious goals for his business and his family. You provide him access to a certain segment of the population."
"A fanged segment," I added. "Let's not doubt his real interest: I'm delivering him a Master vampire."
"Whether it's one or both of us he wants to see, remember who you are. Neither a Master nor merely a Merit, but a powerful vampire in her own right."
We passed into rural, wooded acreages, a sign we were nearing our destination. We'd just turned onto a tree-lined road, dark in the absence of streetlights, when Ethan - without warning - slowed and pulled the Mercedes onto the shoulder. When the engine was off and the car silent, he flicked on the overhead light and looked at me.
I watched him, waiting, wondering why he'd stopped the car.
"Celina's release concerns me," he finally said.
"Concerns you?"
"As you know, in the past, the GP's focus has been the protection of Housed vampires and assimilation into human society. Ensuring our immortality."
I nodded. The precursor to the GP had been created in the aftermath of the First Clearing. Survival was the directive.